Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Ottoman Spring

Secular, democratic Turkey — a long-time ally and member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) — has managed to out-Putin Putin when it comes to steamrolling civil liberties. The last decade or so in Ottomanic Turkey has been like a side step trek to autocracy.

That 'lected Erdogan Prime Minister cat (recently standing next to 44 in the Rose Garden wringing his militarily awesome (on paper anywrought) hands in hapless dismay, pleading for Great Satan to inject blood and treasure into Syria) has taken his AK party to power and swing Turkey all the way, the other way, from sec sec secularism (ism) to a autocratic Polislamic thingy.Despite leading the world in the number of journalists in jail, putting the 'fear' in verboten via liq liq liquor, arguing for censoring stuff like that trouble making Twitter, Face Book and a dang near unconcealed lust for concealing laffy taffy in public...

A decade of AK rule has brought unprecedented prosperity. Per-capita income has trebled, exports have increased nearly tenfold and Turkish banks are in good health. Mr Erdogan’s bold initiative to end decades of conflict with the country’s Kurdistani population is making good progress. The opposition parties (save the Kurds) remain weak and divided.

Erdoğan is arrogant, crude, and—at heart—an autocrat. He may believe himself invincible. If he is not careful and if he does not begin to respect the rule-of-law and recognize that he is accountable to the Turkish people, he might find himself going the way of Mubarak, Tunisian President Ben Ali, or Yemeni President Saleh.